OCD & Substance Abuse Treatment

OCD & Substance Abuse Treatment Near You in NJ, PA, & NY

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious mental health disorder that affects various aspects of a person’s life. If they also have a substance use disorder (SUD), professional help is often required to provide integrated treatment and give them the tools to work toward lasting recovery. At Rubicon Recovery Center, we offer alcohol and drug addiction treatment, including dual diagnosis care, for individuals from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with co-occurring disorders. Learn more about our substance use disorder and OCD treatment.

Key Takeaways

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that causes a person to experience intrusive thoughts called obsessions and repetitive behaviors called compulsions.
• OCD often co-occurs with substance use because of shared brain patterns and the compulsive self-medication cycle.
• Treating OCD and SUD simultaneously requires an integrated approach and a coordinated care team, often with therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
• Insurance coverage for treatment will depend on your plan and benefits. Our convenient insurance verification process can help you better understand your coverage.
• Rubicon Recovery Center provides three levels of outpatient care programs for patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

What Are OCD Symptoms?

OCD is a chronic mental health disorder that is characterized by the presence of obsessions (intrusive, recurring thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors or rituals). Common obsession themes include fear of contamination or germs, doubting whether a task has been completed, a need for symmetry or exactness, or intrusive harmful thoughts.

Compulsions are frequently done to make the obsessions go away or to relieve the strong anxiety caused by obsessions. They include excessive cleaning or handwashing, repeatedly checking things, arranging items in a certain order, and other mental rituals.

OCD symptoms generally take up a significant portion of the patient’s time, at least around 1 hour per day. These symptoms and their intensity often cause substantial distress, increased anxiety, and a lower overall quality of life.

Why Do OCD and Substance Use Often Co-Occur?

OCD and SUDs often coincide, with research suggesting that nearly a quarter of people with OCD also experience an SUD during their lifetime. When a person has both OCD and SUD, it is known as a co-occurring condition. These disorders often co-occur for a few reasons. One of the main ones is self-medication. People with OCD often turn to alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, or other substances to deal with their symptoms, decrease intense anxiety, calm intrusive thoughts, or simply feel better.

Another reason is that OCD and substance use stem from shared brain chemistry. They both involve overlapping neural pathways and imbalances in neurotransmitters that control reward, fear, and impulses. When these imbalances occur, they can affect vulnerability to both OCD and SUD. These brain patterns can also lead to compulsivity in OCD and habitual repetition in addiction, which can spiral into a continuous cycle that is difficult to break without professional treatment.

How Is OCD Treated at Rubicon Recovery Center?

At Rubicon Recovery Center, we treat both mental health and substance use disorders, provided the patient enters treatment mainly for an SUD. We partner with our sister center, Rubicon Mental Health Center, to provide dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring disorders, including OCD and SUD. Dual diagnosis care involves addressing both disorders at the same time, often using treatments and therapies such as:

• Individual therapy: In one-on-one therapy sessions, counselors use techniques likedialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and exposure and response prevention (ERP), a type of CBT that is considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD.
• Family counseling: We offer once-weekly therapy sessions with the patient and their family members to help address familial relationships, increase support, and improve family dynamics.
• Group therapy: These group sessions are led by a licensed therapist and help to provide peer support, reduce isolation, and teach better coping strategies.
• Holistic therapies: Along with evidence-based therapies, we also help promote whole-person healing through techniques like mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and more.
• Medication management: We offer medication management services when clinically appropriate. For some people with OCD, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or other similar medications may be prescribed to manage severe symptoms. Our staff will help monitor usage, manage side effects, and ensure proper dosages.

An integrated treatment approach also involves a coordinated team. Instead of having multiple different doctors or therapists who don’t communicate, the patient works with a single team that collaborates to prevent conflicting information and provide consistent care.

What Are the Levels of Care for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

At Rubicon Recovery Center, we provide three levels of outpatient care programs for co-occurring mental health disorders and SUDs. Our convenient outpatient design offers more flexibility than inpatient programs, allowing patients to access comprehensive treatment while still managing daily responsibilities like work and childcare.

• Our highest-level program is the Partial Care program, also known as the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), which is ideal for those looking to transition out of inpatient care or who want a step up from IOP. Patients attend 5 or 6 days per week for 6 hours a day. The program typically lasts 30 to 45 days.
• Our mid-level program, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), acts as a middle ground between PHP and our Outpatient Program. Patients attend 3 to 5 days per week, depending on their needs, for 3 hours a day. The program typically lasts for 10 to 12 weeks.
• The Outpatient Program (OP)is our lowest-level program, where patients attend 2 to 3 days a week for an hour a day. The program length varies, but it frequently lasts several months. This program is typically reserved for current patients who need to step down from PHP or IOP.

To ensure each patient is placed in the best program for their needs, we give each new patient a thorough clinical assessment when they enter treatment. This helps us better understand their diagnoses, treatment goals, and other relevant factors that can impact recovery.

Does Insurance Cover OCD Treatment at Rubicon Recovery Center?

If you’re looking into treatment, you may be concerned about the cost and whether your insurance will partially or fully cover it. Federal mental health parity laws generally require applicable health plans that offer mental health and substance use disorder benefits to provide them under requirements comparable to medical and surgical benefits. Coverage for OCD treatment depends on the individual plan and benefits.

At Rubicon Recovery Center, we also do our best to increase the accessibility of treatment by accepting most major insurance providers. They include:

• Aetna
• Anthem
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Carelon Behavioral Health
• Cigna
• Luminare (CoreSource)
• Government Employees Health Association (G.E.H.A.)
• Humana
• Meritain Health
• TRICARE East
• UnitedHealthcare

To help you determine your coverage, we also provide quick and confidential insurance verification through our Admissions Department. To get started, fill out our online form or call 908-274-0015 to talk with one of our knowledgeable professionals who will explain your benefits and possible out-of-pocket costs.

Find OCD Treatment Near You in NJ, PA, & NY

Dealing with both OCD and a substance use disorder can be overwhelming. Fortunately, high-quality dual diagnosis care is available at Rubicon Recovery Center. Located in Watchung, NJ, we serve individuals from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York with evidence-based, whole-person healing. We provide three levels of care, a convenient outpatient design, and aftercare planning, including relapse prevention tools. To explore our integrated SUD and OCD treatment near you, contact us today.

Frequently Asked Questions About OCD Treatment

What are the signs of OCD?

The primary signs of OCD are obsessions (unwanted, distressing thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental acts) that are typically performed in a cycle. Obsessions can center on contamination, symmetry, or intrusive thoughts, while compulsions often involve cleaning, checking items, or arranging items.

Does OCD cause substance use?

No, OCD does not directly cause substance use. However, it is strongly linked to a higher risk of developing a substance use disorder, with nearly 25% of OCD patients developing an SUD in their lifetime.

Can OCD and addiction be treated together?

Yes, treating OCD and addiction together using integrated treatment is the clinical gold standard. Rather than sequentially treating them, which ignores how closely mental health and addiction are connected, integrated treatment acknowledges this connection and promotes better long-term outcomes.

Does insurance cover OCD treatment?

It might, but it depends on your specific plan. However, under federal mental health parity laws, most providers cover at least a portion of the treatment cost.

How long does OCD treatment take?

Treatment duration varies from person to person because each patient has different needs, diagnoses, treatment goals, and program types. It can range from several weeks to several months or even longer.

Will I need medication to treat OCD?

You might. If you are prescribed medication for OCD symptoms, we provide medication management services for our patients to ensure correct dosing and manage side effects.

What substances do people with OCD often abuse?

Substances that people with OCD may abuse include alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and prescription sedatives like benzodiazepines.

What is ERP for OCD?

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that helps patients slowly confront their obsessions without engaging in compulsive behaviors. It is recognized as the gold-standard treatment for OCD.